All 76ers

James Harden’s Tweet Following 76ers’ Win Over Hawks

James Harden returned to the 76ers' bench on Saturday night as they faced the Hawks.

Justin Grasso

In this story:

The Philadelphia 76ers have struggled to stay healthy lately. As the team missed its All-Star center Joel Embiid, who was dealing with the flu, they relied on their ten-time All-Star guard James Harden to help carry them in the big man’s absence.

Unfortunately, during a second matchup against the Washington Wizards at home, Harden suffered a foot injury. While Harden played the remainder of the game, battling through the pain, an MRI revealed a tendon strain the following morning.

Harden is set to be re-evaluated two weeks after the diagnosis. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the star guard will miss at least a month’s worth of games. Last week, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed that Harden has been sporting a walking boot. At the time, he was away from the team, tending to a personal matter.

Prior to the Sixers’ Saturday night matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Harden hadn’t been around. That changed when the team returned to South Philly to play in a rematch against Atlanta this weekend.

Wearing street clothes, Harden joined injured Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton on the bench to root for his team. The star’s backcourt partner Tyrese Maxey had himself a night as he produced a season-high of nine assists while draining over 50 percent of his shots to collect 26 points.

Joel Embiid, Maxey, and the Sixers got payback against the Hawks by picking up a 121-109 victory. Following the game, Harden tweeted out some photos of himself on the bench with a message.

“Can’t wait to get back,” tweeted the injured guard.

It appears that Harden is no longer in a walking boot, which is a positive development for his recovery.

It’s unclear when Harden will receive the opportunity to return to the practice court to begin working on the re-conditioning phase to make up for lost time, but it’s a good sign for the Sixers that he’s back around the team as they continue to try and find ways to make things click in his absence.  

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

Home/News